Mari Ness

Born in Massachusetts, Mari Ness spent much of her life wandering the world and reading, which trained her to do one thing in life: write. Her interest in fairy tales was first sparked by a gloriously illustrated book given to her as a birthday present when she was four, and solidified by a later book of Italian fairy tales which were even better, because they included a funny talking parrot. She continued to hunt down as many tales as she could. She holds a degree in English and medieval studies from the University at Binghamton, and has done additional graduate work in history and marine biology. More than one hundred of her short stories have appeared in multiple publications including Clarkesworld, Tor.com, Lightspeed, Uncanny, Fireside, Nightmare, Diabolical Plots, Daily Science Fiction, Capricious SF, and Kaleidotrope. Her poetry has appeared in Strange Horizons, The Mithila Review, Twisted Moon, Polu Texni, and Goblin Fruit and has been nominated for the Rhysling, Dwarf Stars, and Elgin Awards. She is also the author of Through Immortal Shadows Singing, a novella in poetry. She currently lives in central Florida, where she watches terrible TV, reads considerably less terrible books, and dreams of one day making the yard worthy of a fairy tale.